Safety mechanism for bolt-action firearms



June 25, 1946. H. L. CROCKETT SAFETY-MECHANISM FOR BQ'LT-ACTION FIREARMS Filed Sept. 1, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet l m m C r E 0 m m L WW w A M/ June 25, 1946. H. L. CROCKETT SAFETY-MECHANISM FOR BOLT-ACTION FIREARMS 3 Sheets Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 1, 1944 T W, K

d; L ,W WW

June 25; 1946.

H. 1.. cRocpz'rT SAFETY-MECHANISM FOR BOLT-ACTION FIREARMS Filed Sept. l,,1944 L 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Mum/7w? v HARRY L. CROCKETT Patented June 25, 1946 SAFETY MECHANISM FOR BOLT-ACTION FIREARMS Harry L. Crockett, New HavenQConn assignor to 01in Industries, Inc., a corporation of Delaware Application September 1, 1944, Serial No. 552,241, 1 Claim. (01. 42- 3) The present invention relates to improvements in safety-mechanisms for bolt-action firearms and relates more particularly to improvements in safety-mechanisms for types of firearms wherein a breech-bolt is employed which has both oscillatory or swinging movement laterally and reciprocating movement lengthwise of itself.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a superior firearm-construction wherein superior means is provided whereby the trigger is rendered ineifective in releasing the firingmechanism until such time as the oscillatingand-reciprocating breech-bolt is in its full breech-closing position and effectively locked in such position.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a firearm with a superior construction and arrangement of parts whereby abreech-bolt of the character before referred to, may by turning movements in opposite directions respectively, render the firing-mechanism operative or inoperative.

With the above and other objects in View, as will appear to those skilled in the art from the present disclosure, this invention includes all features in the said disclosure which are novel over the prior art and which are not claimed in any separate application.

In the accompanying drawings, in which certain modes of carrying out the present invention are shown for illustrative purposes:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a boltaction firearm embodying the present invention,

with a portion of the receiver and a portion of the trigger-plate unit shown in section, and showing the breech-bolt closed and locked and showing the associated parts in the positions which they assume when the firearm is in readiness for being discharged;

Fig. 2 is a top or plan view thereof;

Fig. 8 is a view in side elevation of .the breechbolt;

Fig. 9, is a perspective view of the control-.

plunger detached and on a largerscale; Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the bell-crank lever detachedon the same scale as Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a detached perspective View of the transmitting-member detached on the same scale as Figs. 9 and 10;

Fig. 12 is a detached perspective View of the Fig.13 is a similar view of the trigger;

Fig. 14. is a view in side elevation of a group ofparts comprisingthe trigger, sear, transmit- Y ting member, bell-crank V lever and controlplunger; and r v 'Fig, 15 is atopor Dian view thereoi. v

The particular bolt-action firearm herein chosen for purposes of illustrating one form of the. present invention includes a receiver III, .a barrel; II, a trigger-plateunit l2, anactionslide The receiver it! above referred to. top-:wall l5 and integral side-walls. lliand I'l The forward portions of the top-wall l5 and the s ide-wall I! are cut awayto provide an ejection-7 opening. I 8, which is closed by the breech-bolt l4 when the same is in its forward or breechclosing position but which is open when the said breech-bolt is inv its. rearward position, in a manner common in the art.

Fig. 3 is a View similar to Fig. 1 but with the action-slide omitted and showing the breech-bolt turned into its unlocked position to thereby cause the trigger to be, in effect, uncoupled from the sear;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a view of the trigger-plate unit partly in plan and partly in horizontal section taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 1 but with the hammer, hammer-plunger and hammer-spring omitted;

Fig. 6 is a similar view but taken on the line 66 of Fig. 3;

Fig. '7 is a view of the breech-bolt looking toward the rear end thereof;

Theside-wall iii of the receiver Ill is formed I adjacent the forward end of theejection-opening' l8 with a forwardly-facing locking-abutment 19 which is adapted to be engaged .by the rear face or edge of abolt-locking lug 20 projecting radially from the left d of,.the breech-bolt 14 adjacent the forward end thereof. At a point substantially diametrically opposite its bolt-locking lu g zll, the breech-bolt I4 is formed with a second radially-projecting bolt-locking lug 2|. which is adaptedto have'its rearface or edge engaged with a, forwardly.-1Eacingv locking abutment 22 formed in the right side-wall .ll of the receiver Extending radially outwardly from the outer end of the bolt-locking lug 2| ,of. the breech-bolt I4 is a bolt-operating lug 23 whichprojects into a cam.-recess 2 4 formed in the inner-face of the rear portion of the action-slide 13 adjacent the outwardly-projecting handle 25 thereof.

sear on the same scalev as Figs. 9 to 11 inclusive;

includes a act in such manner that when the action-slide I3 is moved rearwardly from the position from which it is shown in Fig. 1, the said cam-recess will coact with the bolt-operating lug 23 to first rock the bolt in a clockwise direction (as viewed from the front) to disengage the bolt-locking lugs and 2| respectively from the lockingabutments l9 and 22 of the receiver Ill. Following this unlocking movement of the breech-bolt, the coaction of the bolt-operating lug 23 and the surfaces of the cam-recess 24 will then effect the direct rearward movement of the breechbolt l4 until the latter reaches the limit of its rearward movement. Conversely, when the action-slide I3 is drawn forwardly, following the above-described rearward movement thereof, the coaction of the bolt-operating lug 23 and cam-recess 24 will first draw the said breech-bolt forwardly until such time as the respective rear faces of the boltlocking lugs 20 and 2! thereof register with the locking-abutments l9 and 22 of the receiver l0, whereupon the breech-bolt will be turned transversely in a counterclockwise direction to again lock the breech-bolt in its breech-closing position.

On its right side, the breech-bolt I4 is formed with an integral longitudinally-extending rib 26, the under-face of which constitutes an actuating-surface 21 extending substantially the full length of the breech-bolt l4. The said actuating-surface 21 is adapted to engage with the flat upper surface of the head 28 of a vertical control-plunger generally designated by the reference character 29. The said control-plunger includes, in addition to its head 28, an integral downwardly-extending stem 30 which is cylindrically contoured and which is provided in its inner periphery adjacent its lower end with a coupling-notch 3|. The said control-plunger 29 is mounted for vertical movement in a vertical passage 32 formed in the right side-wall of the trigger-plate unit l2. The said control-plunger 29 is yieldingly urged upwardly by a helical spring 3-3 which bears at its upper end against the under face of the head 28 and bears at its lower end against a suitable shoulder formed in the passage 32, as is especially well shown in Fig. 4.

Fitting into the coupling-notch 3| in the stem 30 of the control-plunger 23 is the cylindricallycontoured terminal of a substantially-horizontal arm 34 of a plate-like bell-crank lever generally designated by the reference character 35, which latter also includes a substantially-vertical arm 36, as is especially well shown in Fig. 10. The said bell-crank lever 35 is mounted for pivotal movement in a vertical plane upon a hammerpin 3'! extending transversely across the triggerplate unit l2 and serving also to pivotally mount ahammer 38. The forward face of the vertical arm 36 of the bell-crank lever 35 engages with the rear face of a vertical finger 39 projecting upwardly from a bar-like transmitting-member generally designated by the reference character 4!).

At its rear end, the transmitting-member 40 is formed with a lateral transmitting-arm 4| which projects into a rearwardly-and-lateral1yopening coupling-notch 42 formed in the rear end of a sear generally designated by the reference character 43. The transmitting-arm 4| of the transmitting-member 4D reciprocates in a direction forwardly and backwardly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the firearm-structure, within the coupling-notch 42 in the sear 43, for purposes as will more fully hereinafter appear.

The sear 43 above referred to, is mounted for pivotal movement intermediate its respective opposite ends, upon the central portion of a trigger-pin 44 extending transversely across and supported in the rear portion of the trigger-plate unit 12. The said sear 43 fits between the laterally-spaced-apart upwardly and forwardlyprojecting portions of side-flanges 45-45 of a trigger generally. designated by the reference character 46. The said forwardly-and-upwardlyprojecting portions of the side-flanges 45--45 are pierced to receive the trigger-pin 44.

The rear portions of the side-flanges 45-45 of the trigger 45 are respectively formed with one of two laterally-spaced-apart upwardly-facing transmitting-abutments 4'l-41 which are adapted, in a manner as will hereinafter appear, to coact with the under surface of the transmitting-arm 4| of the transmitting-member 40. The said trigger also includes an integral fingerpiece 48 projecting downwardly from its rearportion within a trigger-guard 49 forming a feature of the rear-portion of the trigger-plate unit In its upper rear-portion, at a point to the rear of its transmitting-abutments 4|4l, the trigger 66 is formed with an upwardly-opening spring-pocket 50 receiving a trigger-spring 5| seated at its upper end against the under face of a guide-block 52 pinned to and upwardly projecting from the rear-portion of the triggerplate unit I2, as is especially well shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The said trigger-spring exerts a constant effort to turn the trigger 45 in a counterclockwise direction, as required to yieldingly maintain its finger-piece 48 in its forward position.

The guide-block 52 above referred to is bifurcated at its upper end and receives, with a sliding fit, thecylindricallywontoured rear-portion of a hammer-plunger 53 having its forward end pivotally connected to the hammer 38 about midway the length thereof. Encircling the rear portion of the hammer-plunger 53 intermediate the guide-block 52, and a rearwardly-facing shoulder 54 formed on the said plunger, is a helical hammer-spring 55 which exerts a constant efiort to swing the hammer 38 in a clockwise direction, as required to engage the upper end of the said hammer with the rear end of a firin plunger 56 mounted in the breech-bolt I4 in any approved manner well understood in the art.

The lower portion of the hammer 38 is formed with a rearwardly-facing cocking-abutment 5] which is releasably engaged by a forwardly-facing cocking-abutment 58 formed at the forward end of the sear 43. The said sear 43 is normally urged to turn in a counterclockwise direction so as to yieldingly maintain its cockingabutment 58 in the path of movement of the cocking-abutment 51 of the hammer 38, by a sear-spring 59 (Figs. 1 and 3) having its upperportion seated in a downwardly-opening springpocket 60 (Fig. 12) formed in the forward-portion of the sear 43. The lower end of the searspring 59 rests upon an adjacent upwardly-facing portion of the trigger-plate unit [2.

The sear 43 is also formed with a spring-pocket 5! (Fig. 12) opening rearwardly into the forward-portion of its coupling-notch 42 and accommodating a return-spring 62 which thrusts rear wardly against the forward face of the transmitting-arm 4! f the transmitting-member 40. In this connection, it is to be noted that the returnspring 62 is proportioned to apply a force materially weaker than the opposing force applied by the spring 33 of the control-plunger 29, for reasons as will hereinafter appear.

Operation For purposes of making clear the operation of the safety-mechanism above described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, let it be assumed that the parts are in the positions in which they are indicated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, in which the hammer 38 is cocked, the action-slide I3 is in its full forward position, and hence the breech-bolt is locked in its breech-closing position.

Under the conditions above referred to, the longitudinal actuating-surface 21 of the breechbolt will hold the control-plunger 29 downwardly against the tension of its spring 33', by force exerted upon the upper face of the head 28. When forced downwardly, the control-plunger 29 will swing the bell-crank lever 35 in a clockwise direction, and will thereby permit the returnspring 62 in the sear 43 to move the transmitting-member 40 rearwardly from the position in which it is shown in Figs. 3, 6, 14 and 15, into the position in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and 5.

The described rearward movement of the transmitting-member 40 will cause the transmittingarm 4| thereof to ride over the upper surface of the transmitting-abutments 4|4| of the trigger 46, to thus place the firearm in condition for discharge.

Now when rearward draft is exerted upon the finger-piece 48 of the trigger 46, the transmitting-abutments 4'|-4'I of the said trigger will engage with the under face of the transmittingarm 4| of the transmitting-member 40 and will lift the rear end of the said transmitting-memher upwardly. The upward movement of the transmitting-arm 4| of the transmitting-member 4|) as just described, will cause the upper surface of the said transmitting-arm to thrust against the upper wall of the coupling-notch 42 in the rear end of the sear 43 and hence cause the said sear to be rocked in a clockwise direction around the trigger-pin 44 as a center. This rocking movement of the sear 43 will depress the cocking-abutment 58 at the forward end thereof and disengage the same from the cocking-abutment 51 of the hammer 38. The hammer 38 will thus be released to the action of the hammer-spring 55 and will strike the projecting rear end of the firingplunger 56 to drive the same forwardly and thus effect the discharge of the firearm.

The action-slide I3 may now be either manually or automatically operated, and upon being moved rearwardly from its foremost position, following the discharge of the firearm, the said action-slide will, through the intermediary of its cam-recess 24 and the bolt-operating lug 23 of the breech-bolt I4, cause the said breech-bolt to first swing in a clockwise direction (as viewed from the front of the firearm), to thereby lift the bolt-locking lug 2| of the breech-bolt I4 and depress the bolt-locking lug 20 thereof respectively out of engagement with the locking-abutments 22 and I9 of the receiver II]. The breechbolt will now have assumed the position in which it is shown in Fig. 3.

The clockwise turning movement of the breechbolt I4 as above described, will lift the rib 26 and its downwardly-facing actuating-surface 21 and thus permit the spring 33 to raise the control-plunger 29 upwardly from the position in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and 4 into the position in which it is shown in'Figs. 3 and 14. This upward movement of the control-plunger 29-will turn the bell-crank lever 35 in a counterclock; wise direction, thereby causing the vertical arm 36 of the latter to act through the vertical finger 39 of the transmitting-member lll, toshiftthe said transmitting-member forwardly against the relatively-light tension of the return-spring 62.

By means of the above-described action, the transmitting-member 40 will 7 be bodily moved forwardly from the position in which it is shown in Figs. 1 and 5 into the positionin which it is shown in Figs. 3, 6, 14 and 15.

After the breech-bolt I4 has been turned in a clockwise direction and unlocked as above described, and has permitted the forward movement of the transmitting-member 40 under the urge of the return-spring 62, the continued rearward movement of the action-slide I3 will, through the intermediary of its cam-recess 24 and bolt-operating lug 23 of the breech-bolt I4, cause the direct rearward travel of the said breechbolt.

The direct rearward travel of the breech-bolt to the limit of its rearward travel, will effect the extraction and ejection'of the just-fired cartridge and will also effect the counterclockwise swinging movement of the hammer 38 to re-cock' the latter. During all of-this rearward travel of the breech-bolt, the trigger'46 is uncoupled from the sear 43, due to the fact that the transmittingmember 40 is in its, forward position;

Following the full rearward movement of th breech-bolt to re-cock the hammer 38 and ex tract and eject the just-fired cartridge, "the action-slide I3 may be moved forwardly to similarly-move the breech-bolt I4. Prior to moving the breech-bolt I4 forwardly as just described, a-

rear faces of the bolt-locking lugs 20 and 2| thereof will be brought respectively into registry with the locking-abutments I9 and 22 of the receiver I0. When the breech-bolt I4 has been moved into the position just described on its re-' turn to its breech-closing position, the next action of the forward movement of the action-slide I3 will be (through the intermediary of its camrecess 24 and the bolt-operating lug 23 of the breech-bolt) to turn the breech-bolt in a counterclockwise direction, to thus lift its bolt-locking lug 20 into engagement with the locking-abutment IQ of the breech-bolt and to coincidentally depress the bolt-locking lug 2| of the breech-bolt into engagement with the locking-abutment 22 of the receiver ID.

The counterclockwise turning movement of the breech-bolt as just above described, will also depress the longitudinal downwardly-facing actuating-surface 21 thereof and similarly depress the control-plunger 29 against the tension of its spring 33. The described downward movement of the control-plunger 29 will turn the bell-crank lever 35 in a clockwise direction, thus swinging the vertical arm 36 thereof rearwardly. The turning movement of the bell-crank lever just referred to will permit the return-spring B2 of the sear 43 to force the transmitting-member 4| rearwardly, to place the transmitting-arm M over the transmitting-abutments 41* of the trigger 46 to again couple the said sear 43 to the said trigger. The shifting of the transmitting-arm 41 of the transmitting-member 40 into operative relationship with respect to the transmittingabutments 4'! 81 will not take place, however, until the bolt-locking lugs 20 and 21 of the breechbolt I4 have been turned sufilciently to effect the secure locking of the breech-bolt in its breechclosing position, Furthermore, the movement of the transmitting-member, as just described, cannot occur until rearward draft is released upon the finger-piece 48 of the trigger 48, since otherwise, forwardlyacing stop-abutments 63-53 respectively formed on the sideflan ges A5- 45 0f the trigger 46, will check such movement of the said transmitting-member.

Thus, the sear 43 remains uncoupled.- from the trigger 46 and the latter remains inoperative until such time as the breech-bolt is locked in its breech-closing position, to thus guard against premature discharge of the firearm, which would be apt to not only cause damage to the firearm but injure the user by occasioning the bursting of a part1y-seated cartridge.

The invention may be carried out in other specific ways than those herein set forth without departing from the spirit and essential characteristics of the invention, and the present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, and all changes coming within the meaning and equivalency range of the appended claim are intended to be embraced therein,

I claim:

A firearm including in combination: a framestructure having a bolt-receiving chamber therein and a forwardly-facing bolt-locking abutment; a breech-bolt constructed and arranged to both oscillate laterally in the bolt-receiving chamber of the said frame-structure and to reciprocate longitudinally therein, the said breech-bolt being formed with a rearwandly-iacing bolt-locking abutment constructed and arranged to be engaged with the boltalocking abutment of the said frame-structure by allateral turning movement of the said breech-bolt, the said breech-bolt also being formed with an actuating-surface facing substantially downwardly and located on one side of the breech-bolt so as to move substantially vertically as the breech-bolt iis oscillated; a ver tically-movable plunger carried bythe said framestructure in a plane to one side of the center of oscillation of the breech-bolt and having a portion positioned to be engaged and depressed by the said actuating-surface of the said breechbolt when the latter is turned into position to engage its aforesaid bolt-locking abutment with the bolt-locking abutment of the said framestructure; spring-means urging the said plunger upwardly; a firing-member carried by the said frame-structure; a sear also carried by the .said frame-structure and engageable with the said firing-member to releasably hold the same in its cocked position; a trigger carried by the said frame-structure; a transmitting-member also carried by the said frame-structure and movable in a plane substantially longitudinal thereof, the said transmitting-member having a-transmit-tingportion constructed and arranged to be operatively interposed between a portion of the said trigger and a portion of the said sea-r to transmit the movement of the former to the latter; and a bell-crank lever operatively interposed between the said vertically-movable plunger and the said transmitting-member and constructed and arranged to operatively interpose the transmittingportion of the said transmitting-member between the said trigger and the said sear when the said plunger is moved downwardly by the turning movement of the said breech-bolt into position to engage its bolt-locking abutment with the boltlocking abutment of the said frame-structure.

HARRY L. CROCKET'I. 

